An Unexpected Series of Events
by Settiai
Summary: The story of Shea Shepard, from Eden Prime to the Crucible. [Shea Shepard: Spacer, War Hero, Sentinel]
1. Chapter 1

Shea Shepard stared at her reflection in the mirror, reaching up to touch the heavy scarring that went over her nose and across her face. Not for the first time, she wondered if she should have taken the Alliance up on their offer to fix the scars. In the aftermath of Elysium, though, she'd been too shell-shocked—and, afterwards, furious at the brass for turning her into a hero when she hadn't wanted or deserved the title—to accept.

Usually, it didn't bother her. Hell, most of the time she wore it proudly. But every now and then, it was a reminder that she could have done without.

Especially today.

"Are you not finished yet?" a voice asked from behind her. "You're going to be late."

Barely holding back a smile, Shepard tore her gaze away from her own reflection. The reflection of a familiar form was visible standing behind her, hands placed firmly on hips in a way that she suspected didn't bode well for her.

"I'm almost thirty, Mom," Shepard said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she turned around. "Believe it or not, I'm pretty good at taking care of myself."

Hannah Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Don't you 'oh' me," Shepard grumbled good-naturedly. "I didn't ask for you to show up at the door to my quarters bearing gifts of vodka and chocolate. Also, by the way, you still haven't told me how you heard the news."

Her mom gave her an overly innocently look. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Shea," she said primly. "The _Kilimanjaro_ is here at Arcturus for the next week going through routine maintenance. Is it so strange that I'd want to visit my daughter before she leaves on her next assignment?"

Shepard snorted. "Considering the fact that your boyfriend lives on Benning, and you usually use any downtime at Arcturus as a chance to take leave to visit him? Yeah, it's pretty damn strange." She met Hannah's gaze without flinching. "You could have visited Kiran. I know you don't get to see each other nearly as much as you'd like."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "If I'd wanted to visit Kiran, I'd be on Benning right now," she said pointedly, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Shepard's ear.

"Uh-huh," Shepard said, pulling away and ducking under her mom's arm. "Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't actually tell me who told you about Kathryn."

Shepard heard her mom chuckling behind her, but she didn't turn around. She hurried over to her bed, where her mostly-packed duffel was still resting, and started shoving the rest of her things into her. Shepard didn't want to admit it, but her mothers had been right: if she didn't hurry up, she really was going to be late. And that wouldn't be good no matter how she looked at it.

"Could it not be a coincidence?" Hannah asked, her tone still too innocent for Shepard to believe it for even a second.

"Not with chocolate _that_ expensive," Shepard shot back. "And I'm pretty sure the vodka cost a fair number of credits too."

She closed her duffel, throwing it over her shoulder. Then she turned around to actually look at her mother again. "Come on," she wheedled, "who told you?"

Hannah just smiled. "My sources are confidential."

Shepard rolled her eyes, but she still walked over and gave her a mom a quick one-armed hug that was returned somewhat more wholeheartedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hannah asked as Shepard pulled away, her voice serious.

"It's not the first time I've had someone break up with me," Shepard said, shaking her head. "It probably won't be the last, either."

Hannah crossed her arms. "Maybe not, but you were with Kathryn for almost three—"

"And that's my cue to leave before the hypothetical grandchildren get brought up again," Shepard cut in, a broad grin on her face. If her mom noticed that it didn't quite meet her eyes—and Shepard didn't know why she was bothering with "if" considering how well she knew her mother—she didn't comment on it.

Hannah let out a theatrical sigh. "There you go again, breaking my poor heart."

"Uh-huh," Shepard said skeptically. Then she glanced at the old-fashioned clock that she kept by her bed in the sparse quarters she kept at Arcturus and swore. "Fuck, I've got to run."

"I told you that you were going to be late," Hannah said primly, as if she hadn't said a word since her earlier warning.

Shepard laughed and gave her mom a quick peck on the cheek before turning and sprinting for the door. "Give Kiran a hug for me!" she called over her shoulder.

"What makes you think I'm going to Benning?" Hannah called after her, leaning out the still open door to watch Shepard run down the corridor.

Laughing and ignoring the surprised looks she was getting from a few marines walking by, several of whom barely looked old enough to shave, Shepard glanced back over her shoulder one more time. "You have your sources, and I have mine!"

* * *

><p>Anderson didn't even raise an eyebrow when Shepard came sprinting up to the <em>Normandy<em>'s dock, her duffel bag bouncing heavily against her bag and her heavy breathing making it obvious that she'd run the entire way. "You made better time than I expected," he said mildly.

"You talk to my mother too much, sir," Shepard replied, feeling impressed that she only sounded a little breathless. She came to a stop in front of the captain and gave him a sloppy salute. If there had been anyone else there, she might have been a bit more professional, but without any witnesses she didn't see the harm. Anderson had known her since she'd barely been able to walk; a slightly too casual salute wasn't going to hurt.

At that, the corner of Anderson's mouth twitched just a bit. He didn't comment, but he gave her a small nod of acknowledgement.

She couldn't help but notice that he wasn't starting toward the ship.

"Are we still waiting for someone, Captain?" Shepard asked, tilting her head. She shifted her bag a bit, pulling it into a slightly more comfortable position. She took a few steps forward and turn somewhat, so that she was standing next to the captain rather than in front of him.

Anderson didn't look at her for a moment, his gaze focused somewhere in the distance. After a moment, he made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort and glanced back at her. "Not anymore."

Shepard fought the urge to question him, but she did give him a slight frown. As many years as he'd known her, Anderson knew very well just how little she liked surprises. He didn't necessarily _care_, of course, but he did know.

And that was when she saw the turian.

Quickly schooling her face, even though she doubted a turian would be familiar enough with human expressions to actually read anything, Shepard stood a little straighter. Beside her, Anderson nodded his head in greeting.

"Spectre Kryik," he said politely.

"Captain Anderson," the turian said, bobbing his own head in what looked like a fair approximation of Anderson's own greeting. Then the turian—Kryik, the captain had called him—turned to her and made the same gesture. "Commander Shepard."

Shepard nodded automatically. "Spectre Kryik," she said, repeating the name and title that the captain had used.

Kryik stared at her for a moment, studying her face much more closely than she was comfortable with. Then his mouth opened in what looked something like a grin, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth. "You didn't tell the commander that I would be on board," he said to Anderson. It was obvious from the tone that it wasn't a question.

Anderson gave a half-shrug, although he shot Shepard what she thought was supposed to be a somewhat apologetic look. "I thought it would be safer if we kept your presence on the shakedown cruise on a need-to-know basis, Nihlus," he said. "At least until we were on the ship and on our way to Eden Prime."

Kryik—or should she be thinking of him as Nihlus?—let out a bark of laughter. "I'm well aware of the comments that your Admiral Mikhailovich has been making," he said, his amusement obvious despite Shepard's limited experience with turians. "I honestly wish that he had made an attempt."

The turian gave the captain and Shepard both another nod before walking past them and toward the _Normandy_. After a moment's pause, Anderson gestured for Shepard to follow and started that way himself.

"Captain?" Shepard asked quietly.

"His name's Nihlus Kryik," Anderson replied, his voice just as low. "He's a Council Spectre, and he's representing turian interests for the shakedown cruise."

Shepard nodded. "And, uh, Admiral Mikhailovich?"

Anderson shot her an amused look as they walked up to the _Normandy_. "Hell, Shepard, I know for a fact that your mother has told you plenty of stories about the man. Use your imagination, and you can probably guess the kind of comments he's been making."

She couldn't stop herself from snorting in amusement as they walked through the airlock, earning her a surprised look from the lieutenant standing just inside. The man stared for a brief moment before snapping to attention.

"At ease, Alenko," Anderson said gruffly. "Commander Shepard, this is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko."

Shepard nodded. "Lieutenant Alenko."

"Sir," Alenko said, nodding at Anderson. Then he did the same to Shepard, standing so straight that she wouldn't help but wonder how the poor man's back hadn't snapped yet. "Ma'am. Welcome on board the _Normandy_."

The lieutenant hesitated, obviously wanting to say something but not quite working his way up to speaking. Shepard glanced at Anderson and shot him a sharp look.

The look that the captain shot her back was just as pointed, but then he took pity on Alenko. "Were there any issues when Spectre Kryik came on board?" he asked.

Alenko's hesitation was so brief that Shepard wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been paying close attention. "No, sir."

Anderson let out a dry chuckle. "I doubt that," he said. "If it makes you feel any better, Lieutenant, I gave the commander here even less notice than I gave you."

"That really doesn't make me feel any better," Alenko said dryly. There was a few seconds' pause before he quickly added: "Sir."

Shepard bit back a laugh, but she suspected that she didn't quite hide her amusement considering the somewhat startled look that the lieutenant shot her.

The captain shook his head. "Tell Moreau to get us on our way," he told Alenko, who immediately saluted and headed toward the cockpit. Then he turned toward Shepard. "Commander, with me. Let me introduce you to the officers that you haven't already met."

Shooting one last speculative look at the already retreating Alenko, Shepard turned to see Anderson already making his way toward the CIC. He was making a beeline for a man about his own age who standing near the galaxy map, whose picture Shepard vague remembered seeing when she was going through the crew files the night before.

He was… the navigator, she thought? Pearson. Preston. Something along those lines, at least. Mentally chastising herself for not doing a better job of at least memorizing the names of the officers, Shepard hurried to catch up with the captain.

If nothing else, this mission to Eden Prime had the potential to be at least a little more interesting than she had been expecting from a run-of-the-mill shakedown cruise.

* * *

><p>Shepard woke up gasping for breath.<p>

She reached out and fumbled for the controls of her sleeper pod, talking a few large gulps of air as it slowly opened. Even though she knew the air inside wasn't any more or less fresh than the air outside, her brain didn't quite believe her. She'd never liked sleeping in pods, and it seemed that hadn't changed in the eight months or so since she'd last been on a ship that didn't actually have a separate crew quarters.

Even though she knew why the _Normandy_ was taking its time heading to the mass relay, giving the pilot enough time to put her through her paces in FTL and make certain everything was working the way it was supposed to, Shepard couldn't help but feel a bit of annoyance about it. The more time it took the _Normandy_ to get to Eden Prime and back, the more time she'd have to spend in sleeper pods; just the thought of those damned things was enough to put her in a bad mood.

"Commander?"

Biting back a curse as she stumbled out of her pod, she looked up and met Lieutenant Alenko's gaze. He was standing at the control panel just outside where the sleeper pods were, a surprised and almost concerned look on his face.

"Lieutenant," she said, nodding at him as she straightened up and let the pod close behind her. Her voice wasn't quite as steady as she would have liked, but there was only so much she could do about that.

For a second or two, she thought he was going to comment on the fact that she was obviously on the verge of having a panic attack. Then he surprised her. Alenko nodded, looking away and giving her a moment to collect herself.

"I've never liked the pods myself," he said casually. A bit too casually, if she was honest with herself, but he was obviously trying to change the subject the best he could. "I can never manage more than four or five hours in them."

"That makes two of us," Shepard muttered under her breath.

Alenko let out a chuckle that almost sounded amused.

Studying his face a bit closer, Shepard couldn't help but notice the slight shadows under his eyes. He looked awake, but she doubted he'd gotten anything near what would be considered a full night's sleep. Maybe there was more to the comment he'd made than merely trying to make her feel better about waking up from what had obviously been a pretty severe nightmare.

Shaking her head, Shepard stretched. Then she made her way down the corridor, heading toward the mess. "Want some coffee, Alenko?" she asked.

He blinked. "It's after hours."

Shepard couldn't resist giving him an amused grin. "Being the XO does have its privileges," she pointed out lightly.

Alenko stared at her long enough that her grin started to fade, and she thought that maybe she had misread something. Then he gave her a weak smile. "Coffee would be terrific."

Shepard couldn't help herself. She smiled back.

* * *

><p>"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence."<p>

The pilot's voice rang out over the comms as Shepard made her way toward the helm. She'd lost count of the number of jumps she'd been through over the years, but there was always something about that first one on a new ship. Whenever she could manage, she liked to be there when it happened.

"Commander."

She gave a nod at whatever crewmember had greeted her, not stopping in her course toward the front of the ship.

The pilot's voice came over the comms again. "We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination."

Shepard picked up the pace a little, hurrying to get to the helm before they actually made the jump. She'd heard a lot of things about the pilot of the _Normandy_, but she wanted to see him in action before she made her mind up about him. Rumors were rumors; she didn't trust anything until she'd seen it with her own eyes.

"The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations, secure for transit."

Part of Shepard thought that she should have been surprised when she found Nihlus already standing in the helm, watching the proceedings thoughtfully. Another part thought that she should have expected it. Ever since the _Normandy_ had left Arcturus Station, it had felt like the Spectre had been constantly underfoot.

She'd almost been surprised when Nihlus hadn't been waiting outside her sleeper pod when she'd woken up the night before. Of course, the turian had wandered by the mess not five minutes after she and Alenko had sat down to enjoy a cup each of Anderson's private coffee stash—not that she had told the lieutenant what they had been drinking. She didn't know the man very well, not yet, but she suspected that he might have dropped dead from a heart attack on the spot if he'd realized that he was partaking in ill-gotten coffee.

Still, Nihlus. It was almost as if the turian was stalking her. Which would have been very awkward if Shepard hadn't known that the mission wasn't supposed to last more than a few days.

"The board is green. Approach run has begun."

Shepard held her breath as the mass relay in front of them lit up, barely even aware that she was doing it. It was habit, a child's game for people like her who had grown up on ships in the fleet. All of them had known the rhyme as children, the familiar chant ringing through whatever room they had been in when a jump had been coming. _Relay run, hold your breath. If you don't, it could bring death._

The adults had never appreciated it, probably thinking it was inappropriate. The children of the fleet, on the other hand, had been convinced that the world might end if they hadn't made that chant every single time a jump was made.

"Hitting the relay in three, two, one…"

She watched, enraptured, as the _Normandy_ flew into the relay. There was a moment where she felt almost weightless, an unseen pressure pushing down on her, and then they were through. Hundreds of light years away in an instant.

The breath she had been holding burst out of her mouth, almost without her being aware of it, and she took in a deep gulp of air. For just a second, she felt almost like a child again.

_Relay run, now we're through. Breathe until the next jump is due._

"Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift just under 1500k."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at just how pleased the pilot sounded with himself. She'd heard lots of rumors about him in the days weeks leading up to the _Normandy_ leaving Arcturus, some of which were plausible and a few of which she seriously doubted the validity of—the most recent one she had heard was that he'd gotten the post because he'd _stolen_ the ship, and if that was true she'd… well, she wasn't entirely certain what she'd do, but that rumor was the one she trusted the least.

Still. Anderson himself had described the man as "one smug son of a bitch, but with those skills he can get away with it." And after seeing him in action, she couldn't argue that he deserved to be a bit smug. He could be a bit more subtle about it, though.

Beside her, Nihlus's mandibles flexed a bit. "1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased."

Without saying another word, the Spectre turned and walked away from the helm. Shepard raised an eyebrow, letting her gaze follow him for a moment.

"I hate that guy," the pilot muttered.

Jeffrey Moreau, the captain had called him. Jeff to his friends, which—from what she'd been told—were basically nonexistent. Joker to everybody else. She should probably start using his name, if only in her own thoughts.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment, so you hate him?"

Shepard blinked and glanced at the seat to Moreau's right. She hadn't even noticed Alenko sitting there, but there he was—and, judging by the look he was shooting the pilot, she suspected he was definitely one of the ones who called the man "Joker" rather than his given name.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, so that's _incredible_." Moreau paused for just a second. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid," Alenko shot back. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

Shepard barely resisted a snort of laughter as the pilot turned to glare at Alenko.

"Yeah, that is the _official _story," Moreau grumbled. "But only an idiot believes the official story."

"And they don't send Spectres on shakedown runs," Shepard chimed in thoughtfully. Smug or not, the pilot was making a good point.

Both Moreau and Alenko spun around in their seats at the sound of her voice, the pilot visibly grimacing as he did, almost as if it had hurt him to turn as quickly as he had. She made a mental note to find out what that was about at a later time.

A bit more hesitantly than before, Moreau continued: "So there's more going on here than the captain's letting—"

Moreau was cut off by the comms, Anderson's voice clearly ringing out. "Joker, status report."

The pilot straightened, presumably unconsciously, at Anderson's voice. "Just cleared the mass relay, Captain." He prodded at his controls a bit. "Stealth systems engaged, everything looks solid."

"Good," Anderson said over the comms. "Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to the Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye aye, Captain," Moreau responded. He paused for a moment before adding: "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," Anderson snapped. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

Shepard grimaced. She recognized _that_ tone in Anderson's voice.

Moreau didn't even glance back at her. "You get that, Commander?"

"Great," she muttered, lack of sleep making her a bit more forward than she'd normally be to an officer under her. And, smug bastard or not, Moreau was an officer. "You piss the captain off, and now I'm going to pay for it."

The pilot made a disparaging sound. "Don't blame me," he shot back, not even attempting to make it sound as if he was talking to a commanding officer. "The captain's always in a bad mood."

Alenko snorted. "Only when he's talking to you, Joker."

Rolling her eyes, Shepard turned away from Alenko and Moreau's bickering and started toward the comm room. Despite what she'd said, she really didn't think it was Moreau who'd ticked Anderson off. There'd been something in his tone of voice from the moment he'd gone on the comms, before Moreau had even had a chance to open his mouth. Someone or something had, though, and she wanted to find out what.

The last thing she wanted was something unexpected to happen on her watch.


	2. Chapter 2

chiefShepard took a deep breath, steadying herself. Well, steadying herself the best that she could, considering the air smelled like smoke and tasted like ash. She did her best to force the image of the bodies they'd found out of her head, burned and mutilated almost beyond recognition. The last time she'd seen anything like that had been—

—and, no, that line of thought was only going to get someone killed. Possibly herself, if she wasn't careful.

"Ma'am?"

She startled. Then she immediately scolded herself for doing so as she turned toward her left, where Alenko was standing with a surprisingly understanding look on his face.

He didn't say anything, but the way he slowly lifted his eyebrow spoke volumes.

"I'm fine, Lieutenant," she said quietly. Then, raising her voice so that Jenkins would hear her, she yelled: "Move out!"

She took the lead, keeping behind the large boulders that dotted the landscape as much as possible. They didn't know what they were up against, and there was nothing Shepard liked less than the unknown.

Up ahead of them, she thought that she saw a flicker of… well, she wasn't quite certain. A light of some kind, reflecting off something. Metal, maybe? She came to an abrupt halt, gesturing for Alenko and Jenkins to stop as well.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jenkins keep moving.

"Goddamnit," she muttered under her breath. The kid had potential, she'd give him that much, but at this rate he wasn't going to live long enough to put it to use.

Shepard threw herself at the corporal, ignoring Alenko's startled yell coming from somewhere nearby where he had actually _listened_ and kept under cover. She hit Jenkins at an angle, shoving him to the ground just as the sound of unfamiliar gunfire filled the air.

It was instinct more than anything when she threw up the strongest barrier she could, fighting with her biotics to cooperate. She'd never been great at defense, too impatient to focus on putting up a strong barrier when it was usually easier to throw the person shooting at her across the room, but she could make do when the situation called for it.

And if there had ever been a situation that called for it, this one was it.

Rolling off of Jenkins, but still keeping close enough to protect him with her biotics the best she could, Shepard brought her pistol up and started shooting at the… well, whatever the hell the things firing at them were. Beside her, Jenkins brought up his own gun.

Judging by the sound of things, Alenko was covering them from behind. Presumably while staying under cover. Like someone with common sense. Which she apparently was very much lacking.

_Now isn't the time to berate yourself,_ she told herself. _Later. Save it for later._

The firefight felt like it lasted for ages, but Shepard suspected it was less than two minutes before a well-aimed shot from Jenkins brought down the last of the enemy combatants. Shepard let the remains of her barrier drop, doing her best to ignore the odd pressure she could feel in the back of her head. It didn't hurt, but it was distracting, and it usually lasted a good half hour if she used her biotics for anything resembling a prolonged time.

The L3 implants might be better than the L2s, but they weren't perfect.

"Damn it, Jenkins, what the hell was that?" Shepard snapped, glaring at the kid as she pushed herself to her feet.

He stared at her from where he was still kneeling on the ground, an almost terrified look on his face. In any other circumstances, she might have been amused. As it was, she was too busy seeing the ghosts of a half dozen kids even younger than him to even consider lightening her tone.

"I mean it, corporal, what the fucking hell was that?" Shepard repeated angrily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alenko hurriedly making his way toward them.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Jenkins finally stammered, pulling himself to his feet. He at least managed to meet her eyes for a moment before looking away. "I didn't mean to—I'm sorry."

Shepard's grip on her gun tightened. "I don't care if you're sorry, Jenkins," she said, still not even attempting to rein in her anger. "Not only did you just risk the mission, but you almost got yourself killed. Neither of those is remotely acceptable in my book."

Jenkins kept his gaze focused on the ground. "It won't happen again, Commander," he said quietly.

"It sure as hell better not," Shepard shot back.

She thought that she saw Alenko open his mouth as if to say something. Then he closed it and shook his head. Smart man.

Shepard breathed in and out a few times, forcing herself to push her anger to the side for now. She reminded herself that the kid probably hadn't spent much time, if any, in the field. Hopefully getting shot at would keep him from pulling that stunt again. There was nothing like bullets flying at you to help teach a lesson.

"Does either of you have any idea who or what just tried to kill us?" she asked.

Jenkins shook his head. "No, ma'am."

She glanced over at Alenko.

Alenko shook his head as well. "Not a clue, Commander."

"That's what I was afraid you were going to say," she muttered under her breath, earning a weak smile from Alenko and another terrified look from Jenkins.

Mentally, she sighed and reminded herself that she needed to sit down with the kid to have a talk. If he managed not to get himself killed before they made it back to the _Normandy_, at least. It was one thing to put a little bit of fear into him; in a combat situation, it could sometimes mean the difference between living and dying. It wasn't going to do either of them any good if he ended up being terrified of her, though.

"Okay then," she said, gesturing in the direction they'd been heading before the shooting had started. "Let's keep going."

"Aye aye, Commander," Alenko said.

Jenkins didn't say anything, but he straightened a bit and nodded.

* * *

><p>Shepard was starting to regret whatever life choices had caused her to be chosen for this mission.<p>

She brought down her pistol as the last of the enemies exploded, immediately searching the area for the marine that the combatants had been chasing. The last she'd seen of the woman, the marine had been in the process of diving behind the nearest boulder.

As if she had read Shepard's mind, the marine cautiously came out of cover just a few yards away. She was favoring her right side, just a little, and Shepard narrowed her eyes. She'd been hoping the woman could be back-up, but if she was injured then she might not be much help.

Of course, you could never know with marines. Their definition of "injured" didn't always fit with other people's usage of the word.

Shepard started toward the marine, and the woman met her gaze straight on. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212," she said breathlessly. "You the one in charge here, ma'am?"

"Are you wounded, Williams?" Shepard asked, eyeing the woman's right side again. Williams looked like she was in decent shape, now that she was closer to her, but Shepard didn't want to make any assumptions.

Williams shook her head. "A few scrapes and burns, nothing serious." She took a deep breath. "We held our position as long as we could. Until the geth overwhelmed us."

"The _geth_?" Jenkins repeated, sounding uttered shocked. Not that Shepard could really blame him. "Those things were geth?"

Beside him, Alenko shook his head. "The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly two hundred years," he said skeptically. "Why are they here now?"

"They must have come for the beacon," Williams said. She pointed in the direction Shepard had been leading her team, at least until they'd come across Williams. "The dig site is close, just over that rise."

Shepard frowned as looked off into the distance. The dig site was hidden by the hills, trees, and rocks between them and it; for all she knew there could be an entire platoon of geth just waiting for them there.

"It might still be there," Williams added, once again as if she was reading Shepard's mind. To her credit, she only sounded a little skeptical.

Decision made up, Shepard turned back towards her. "We could use your help, Williams."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Williams said. Then she narrowed her eyes. "It's time for payback."

Shepard made certain that she didn't frown until after she'd turned away. "Let's move out," she said, keeping her voice steady. "Williams, Jenkins, you two go in front. Alenko and I will hold back to provide cover fire if we need it."

She glanced around at all of them. "Do _not_ take any chances."

After a chorus of affirmatives, Williams and Jenkins both started forward. As soon as she was certain they were out of earshot, Shepard took several steps closer to Alenko.

"Keep an eye on Williams," she said under her breath.

Alenko blinked, a confused look on his face. "Ma'am?"

"She just lost her entire squad," Shepard said pointedly. "Do you really think her own safety is going to be a priority for her?"

At that, Alenko grimaced. "Point taken." He paused for a moment. "I assume that means you'll be keeping an eye on Jenkins?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. Then she picked up her speed, moving ahead of Alenko a little.

Once she was certain no one would see it, she allowed her a smile. Just a small one.

* * *

><p>Of course the beacon wasn't at the dig site. Her life couldn't be that simple.<p>

Biting back a variety of curses, some of them more creative than others, Shepard picked up her pace as she hurried up the hill toward the research camp. "Williams?"

"Yes, Commander?" Williams asked, coming up beside her.

"Have you seen a turian Spectre around here?" she asked. Shepard hadn't been happy with Nihlus going off on his own in the first place, but the radio silence from him was starting to give her a bad feeling.

"There aren't any turians on Eden Prime," Williams replied, sounding surprise. "Not that I've ever met. Not sure I'd be able to tell if one was a Spectre, anyway."

Alenko's voice sounded behind them. "If you saw this guy, you'd know," he said. "Carries enough firepower to wipe out a whole platoon."

"If he wasn't on our side, we'd probably be in trouble," Jenkins added, only a hint of his earlier enthusiasm showing through.

Williams started to say something, but she cut off instantly when Shepard brought her hand up. They were coming up on the research camp, and she could see more of the spikes from earlier. A lot more.

"Looks like they hit the camp hard," Ashley said quietly.

Alenko nodded, his biotics flaring slightly. "It's a good place for an ambush."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jenkins whispered, bringing his assault rifle up.

Shepard glanced at him, a hint of a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'm pretty sure that makes all of us, kid."

That was when the bodies on the spikes began to move.

"What the hell?" Shepard muttered. She reached down to grab one of the handful of grenades she had on her, just in case.

"They're still alive!" Alenko exclaimed, sounding horrified.

Williams sounded just as shocked. "What did the geth do to them?"

Jenkins made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a whimper. "Has anyone else ever watched any of those old movies about zombies?"

"Yes, and I really wish you hadn't just said that," Williams shot back at him.

"If they start moaning about brains, you guys are on your own," Shepard said, trying for a levity that she didn't quite feel. There was something about the bodies that made her nervous, but she couldn't quite tell what it was.

Then one of them screeched, a horrible sound somewhere between a roar and a terrified scream, and she feel her blood freeze. Without even stopping to think, Shepard hurled the grenade in her hand.

The sound stopped abruptly as that… shell of a person, that _husk_, was caught in the explosion.

"There's more of them!" Jenkins yelled.

"Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there."

Shepard jerked in surprise as Nihlus's voice suddenly came over the comms. If she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn that the Spectre had purposely waited until the worst possible moment to break his radio silence.

"Why the hell can't anything ever be simple?" Shepard muttered under her breath. Then she threw herself into the fight, her hands glowing blue as she unleashed her biotics.

* * *

><p>"Commander, it's Nihlus."<p>

Shepard kept walking forward, her eyes focused on the still body sprawled on the ground in front of them. There was no mistaking it for anyone other than Nihlus. _Fuck_, she thought, careful to keep any emotions off her face. _This mess just keeps getting worse and worse._

She'd been worried the moment she'd heard that single gunshot ring out in the distance. Everything they'd seen from the geth so far had involved sustained attacks. A single shot? That wasn't a synthetic. The question had been whether or not Nihlus was the one doing the shooting or the one being shot at.

Shepard guessed they had their answer now.

"Commander, someone's there!" Jenkins said suddenly, aiming his gun at the stack of crates behind where Nihlus's body had fallen. Williams and Alenko were both only a second behind him, and Shepard quickly followed suit.

"Wait! Don't—don't shoot! I'm one of you! I'm human!"

Shepard narrowed her eyes as the figure moving in the shadows came out into the open, revealing a scruffy looking dock worker. "Powell?" she guessed, thinking back to the conversation she'd had with the farmers hiding nearby.

If she was wrong, she was wrong. But if she was right, she had a feeling that it might be helpful to put the guy on uneven footing from the beginning.

The man gaped at her, his eyes widening. "How did you—I mean, so what if I am?"

Beside her, Williams let out a hiss. "You son of a bitch!" she exclaimed. "Cole told us all about the smuggling ring. I ought to—"

"Williams," Shepard said warningly, cutting her off.

To her credit, Williams instantly subsided.

Shepard took a few steps forward, moving enough into the man's comfort zone to hopefully throw him even more off balance. He obviously didn't have any weapons on him; or, at least, if he did then he didn't have an experience using them.

"Start talking," she said coldly. "And keep in mind that if I don't like your answers, I might just let Williams here take over."

Shepard glanced back over her shoulder. Williams brought up her left hand and punched it, demonstratively.

"Do I make myself clear?" Shepard asked, turning her attention back toward Powell.

The man nodded frantically.

* * *

><p>Clusterfuck. That was the only word Shepard had to describe the mission to Eden Prime. From beginning to end, it had been nothing but a disaster. And that was even before you got to the part where one Spectre had ended up killing another one.<p>

She could almost picture the disappointed look on Anderson's face now.

"Roger, _Normandy_," she said, finishing up her request for pick-up. "Standing by."

Jenkins was standing nearby, his gaze focused on the ground. It was obviously that he was purposely trying to not meet her gaze.

Shepard sighed. "You okay, Jenkins?"

He looked up instantly. "What?" he asked, sounding confused. Then he shook his head. "I mean, yes. Ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

"Jenkins, at ease," Shepard said tiredly.

Her head was starting to pound from using her biotics so much, and she knew it wouldn't go away until she got some food in her. She was so far from being in the mood to deal with the corporal that it wasn't even funny, but at the same time she knew that she needed to take care of it before things got any worse.

Before she could say anything, Williams came jogging up to her. "Ma'am?"

"We need to talk," Shepard said, holding up a finger at Jenkins. Then she turned toward Williams. "Yes, Chief?"

Williams straightened. "I was hoping you might consider taking me with you, Commander."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. She hadn't quite expected Williams to be so forward, but she couldn't say that the thought hadn't crossed her mind. It would be up to Anderson, in the end, but at the very least Williams needed to be debriefed. The marine had more than proven herself, though, so Shepard could honestly say that she didn't have any hesitation in giving Anderson her recommendation.

"It's not my decision, Chief, but—"

Looking back, Shepard was never quite certain what had caught her attention. All she knew was that, behind Williams, the beacon started to glow a bright green that reminded her of nothing more than a biotic flare up. Alenko jerked back as if he'd been shocked, and then he started sliding toward the beacon as if someone had grabbed hold of him and was pulling.

Cutting off mid-sentence, Shepard shoved Williams out of the way and threw herself at Alenko just as she had for Jenkins earlier. She collided into him with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs, sending him sprawling to the ground with a cry. Behind her, she heard several voices calling out her name.

And then the world exploded.

Sounds. Images. Memories. Flashes of light and noise and touch and taste and smell and sensory inputs that she literally _couldn't_ comprehend. Death, everywhere was death, on a level that was almost beyond imagining.

_Beware_.

Then the world went blissfully blank as darkness rushed in to surround her.


	3. Chapter 3

Shepard was teetering on the edge of a panic attack.

She thought that she was doing a pretty damn good job of hiding it, if she had to say so herself, but she could still feel it building. Anderson hadn't seemed to have noticed when he was debriefing her but, even if he had, she doubted that he would call her on it. Not after everything they'd been through.

Still, now that he had left, it was getting harder and harder to fight off.

Part of her thought that she should say something to the doctor. Chakwas was military through-and-through; it wasn't like it was something she'd never seen before. Still, modern medicine could only do so much, and Shepard knew from past experience that drugs weren't going to help. Hell, being in the medical bay was probably making it worse, if she was honest with herself.

Her mind made up, Shepard made a beeline for the door.

"It's all yours, doc," she said as soon as she walked out, not surprised to find Chakwas standing just outside it.

The doctor shot her a suspicious look, but she didn't say anything. She just nodded and made her way back inside.

Not for the first time, Shepard wished that there were actual crew quarters on the _Normandy_. A sleeper pod was out of the question, and there wasn't really anywhere she could disappear to for a little privacy.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard thought that she saw the members of her ground crew standing around. Part of her knew that she needed to talk to them, to get a gauge of how they were reacting to everything that happened on Eden Prime. A bigger part of her thought that it would probably be better to wait a few minutes, to catch her breath and get her thoughts back under control.

After a moment's hesitation, she decided that her brain probably knew what it was talking about. If she tried to talk to anyone right then, there was a good chance that she'd come off sounding like an idiot who didn't know a single thing about how the universe worked. Without saying a word, she made a beeline for the mess-hall table. She grabbed a chair and dropped into it, closing her eyes and focusing on just trying to breathe normally.

Even though she knew it was all in her head, the sound of her heart beating in her chest was like a pounding drum. Faster and faster, speeding her toward the edge. _Boom. Boom. Doom. Doom. Doom. Death. Death. Deathdeathdeathdeathdeath._

_Breathe_, Shepard told herself, cutting her brain off before it could even think about thinking about Elysium. _Just breathe. In and out, nice and slow. Just like they taught you._

After a minute or two, there was a quiet rustling sound behind her. It was quickly followed by what sounded suspiciously like a glass clinking against the table.

Shepard opened her eyes. A cold glass of water had suddenly appeared in front of her. Blinking in surprise, she glanced up to find Williams standing beside her with a knowing look on her face.

Shepard couldn't help it. She raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you could use this," Williams said matter-of-factly. "Go back to breathing, it usually helps. Ma'am."

Alenko and Jenkins were both hanging back more than Williams, but it was obvious that they were hovering. Shepard reached out and picked up the glass, taking a long swallow of water.

Williams was right. It helped.

Shepard took another swallow of water, mentally chastising herself even though she knew there wasn't actually anything she could have done. Still, she was a superior officer. She'd never been as strict as she probably should have been with officers under her, but part of her couldn't help but feel that it was at least a little improper for them to see her being such a, well, _mess_.

"Thanks, Chief," Shepard said quietly, once she was certain that she wasn't going to embarrass herself any more than she already had.

Williams nodded but didn't say anything.

Letting her gaze focus on Williams for a second before drifting behind her toward Alenko and Jenkins, Shepard let out a sigh. "Was I that obvious?" she asked dryly.

Williams made a noise that sounded suspiciously like an aborted snort of laughter. Jenkins immediately looked away, not meeting her gaze. Alenko, on the other hand, gave her a weak shrug.

"You were out for quite a while, Commander," he pointed out. "You missed a few things. Eden Prime was hard on all of us."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at that. The vision from the Prothean beacon was still swirling around in her head, but for a second she pushed it to the side. He was right. Williams had lost her entire squad. Jenkins had come within seconds of dying. Alenko had almost been the one to get his brain scrambled by the beacon.

The looks on their faces seemed more understanding than judgmental. Shepard couldn't help but wonder if at least one of them had been in a similar position, sitting out here trying to breathe normally, while she'd been unconscious in the med bay.

"You three have a seat," she said finally, when she realized that the silence was starting to become a bit awkward. "We're heading to the Citadel. Let me give you an update."

* * *

><p>Shepard let her fist unclench as the door closed behind Anderson and the ambassador. "I really hate that man," she muttered under her breath.<p>

It overlapped with Williams's not-quite-as-soft: "And that's why I hate politicians."

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Alenko chuckled. Williams threw her head back and laughed, and Jenkins let out an amused snort. Shepard tried to keep her amusement a bit more under wraps, but she didn't try to hide her grin.

"Okay, okay," she said after a minute or so, with more than a bit of reluctance. "As much as I'd love to stand here and laugh at Udina all day, we should probably head toward the Citadel Tower."

Williams nodded, straightening up but still looking amused. Jenkins took one more look out at the view from the balcony before turning all of his attention back toward her.

Alenko's smile disappeared, replaced almost instantly with a deadly serious look. "Yes, ma'am."

"At ease before you break something, Alenko," Shepard said, raising an eyebrow.

She didn't think she was imagining the way his cheeks flushed slightly. "Sorry, Commander."

Shaking her head, Shepard gestured for them to follow her out of the embassy. She led the way, the sound of their footsteps following close behind her almost comforting.

"Have any of you been on the Citadel before?" she asked curiously as they headed down the stairs that led out onto the Presidium.

She was met by a chorus of "no"s.

"What about you, Commander?" Jenkins asked suddenly.

Shepard blinked in surprise. He hadn't spoken to her much since they'd left Eden Prime. She'd meant to pull him to the side before they landed on the Citadel, to talk to him about the stunt he'd pulled down there as well as see if he'd heard anything from his family. There just hadn't been time, though, not between the time she'd woken up and Joker making the announcement that they were coming up on the mass relay.

All of that ran through her head in an instant. Carefully schooling her face so that none of it showed, she glanced back at him. "I've been here a few times, mostly when I was a kid," she said. "It's been years since my last visit."

Jenkins glanced suspiciously at the Avina interface they were walking by before letting his gaze drift out over the lake in front of them. "Does the whole place look like this?"

"Hardly," Shepard said, a little more laughter in her voice than she'd intended. "It's like anywhere else, Corporal. It has its beauty—" She gestured out at the carefully laid out landscape in front of them, frowning somewhat when she noticed that Alenko was staring at her with a look on his face that she couldn't read. Then she shook her head and continued making her point. "—and it has its ugly. Head down into one of the lower wards, and you can't even tell it's the same place."

"They're not as worried about landscaping when there aren't a bunch of rich people around to throw money at them?" Williams asked cynically.

Shepard shrugged. "Something like that."

Behind her, Williams muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "figures."

Shepard stopped in front of the rapid transit, nodding at the pilot as she gestured for the others to get into the shuttle. "We need to get to the Citadel Tower," she said, closing the door behind her as she got in. "Try to hurry, will you?"

* * *

><p>"Stop staring at the Keeper," Shepard said, grabbing Jenkins by the arm and all but pulling him into the elevator.<p>

"Yes, ma'am," Jenkins said, glancing back behind him to stare for another second before the elevator doors closed behind them. She cleared her throat pointedly, and he turned back toward her with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, ma'am."

Williams shook her head. "What _was_ that thing, Commander?"

Alenko didn't say anything, but the look on his face implied that he wanted to know the same thing.

Shepard sighed. "It's a Keeper. Nobody knows a lot about them, but they're what keep the Citadel running." She gave the three of them a pointed look. "And, believe me, the people in charge _really_ don't take lightly to people interfering with them, so leave the bugs alone."

There were several long seconds of silence.

"It sounds like there's a story behind that warning, Commander," Williams said finally.

Shepard could practically hear the question mark at the end, even though Williams was obviously trying to make it sound more like a statement.

She reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "There may be," she temporized, "but believe me when I say that it's one that you won't be hearing any time soon."

For a second, she thought that Williams might actually push the issue. After a moment or so had passed, though, the chief nodded and turned her attention toward Alenko. Shepard let out a breath that she hadn't even realized that she was holding.

"Why is this elevator taking so long?" Jenkins asked suddenly. "It's like it's running on technology from a century ago."

Shepard was saved from having to try to answer that question—which was one that she had honestly been wondering herself—by the elevator coming to a stop. A moment later the doors opened in front of them, and she quickly hurried out.

Then she came to an abrupt stop.

She'd planned on hurrying past the two turians standing just inside the entrance, having a rather forceful conversation that seemed to be bordering on becoming an argument. Except then she heard the name _Saren_ and that plan went out the window.

Alenko and Williams both came to a stop beside her, while Jenkins hung a step or two back. Shepard didn't want it to look like they were blatantly eavesdropping, but she suspected they hadn't quite succeeded considering the dirty look that one of the turians shot her before stomping away.

She hovered there for a second, wondering if she should just go on. Then the turian dressed in blue turned toward her and his eyes widened, almost—

"Commander Shepard?"

—as if he'd recognized her. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Shepard nodded.

The turian gave her a nod back. "Garrus Vakarian," he said. "I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

She frowned. Considering what she'd just heard, Shepard had the bad feeling that the investigation hadn't exactly gone well.

"Who were you just talking to?" she asked, a bit more forcefully than she'd intended.

The turian thankfully didn't seem to take any offense. "That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. My boss." Vakarian said the word _boss_ as if it was insult. "He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "Sounds like you really want to bring him down."

"I don't trust him," Vakarian said. "Something about him rubs me the wrong way."

To her left, Williams snorted. Before Shepard could shoot her a look, though, there was a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously like someone being elbowed.

Vakarian continued as if he hadn't noticed anything. "He's a Spectre. Everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence."

"Terrific," Shepard said dryly.

Vakarian made a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle. "Exactly."

Shepard barely resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at that. She honestly hadn't expected him to be familiar enough with humans to pick up on sarcasm. Still, he was C-Sec. He probably interacted with humans more than most turians.

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander," Alenko said, clearing his throat.

He had a good point.

"Thanks for the information, Vakarian," Shepard said, nodding at him before starting toward the Council Chamber.

"Good luck, Shepard," Vakarian said, returning her nod as she walked past him. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

Images from the Prothean beacon flashed in her head, and Shepard grimaced. _I hope so_, she thought. _For all our sakes._


	4. Chapter 4

"What do we do now, Commander?"

Shepard clenched her hand into a fist, trying her best to resist the urge to punch the nearest wall. She wasn't surprised that the Council had ignored them, not really, but that didn't mean it didn't frustrate the hell out of her. And judging by the tentative tone in Alenko's voice, she was doing a horrible job of hiding it.

"Give me a second, Alenko," she managed to choke out, her voice not nearly as calm and collected as she wanted it to be.

He nodded and stepped back to join Williams and Jenkins, disappearing from her immediate view.

Shepard took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to unclench her fist. It was a good question. Udina and Anderson both had made it clear that they expected her to do _something_. She just wasn't sure what would be the best move. She'd started toward the elevator that led back outside to the Presidium on autopilot, without a single plan other in her head other than to put as much distance between her as the Council as possible.

It would probably be a good idea for her to actually start thinking about to do next.

"Okay," she said finally, clapping her hands together as she turned around. She wasn't surprised to see all three of her crew hanging loosely back. Jenkins and Williams were both leaning against the nearby wall, although they straightened up quickly when they realized that she had turned her attention back toward them. Alenko, unsurprisingly, was already standing at attention.

She couldn't help but wonder if the man ever relaxed.

"You have a plan, ma'am?" Williams asked.

Shepard shrugged and gave them what she hoped was a fairly reassuring grin. "The start of one, at least." She turned toward Alenko. "Lieutenant?"

Alenko met her gaze and, if anything, he straightened even more. "Yes, Commander?"

"I want you and Williams to follow up on Anderson's advice," she said. "Go talk to Barla Von and see what you can get from him."

"Aye, Commander," Alenko said instantly.

Williams took a few steps forward to stand beside him. "Aye aye," she said with a nod.

Shepard started to turn away from them. Then she frowned and stopped. "I doubt he'll give you any information for free," she said slowly. "I'll leave it up to you two to decide whether or not what he asks for is worth it." She gave them a warning look. "Be careful what you promise him, okay?"

"We'll be careful, Commander," Alenko said seriously.

After another second or two of hesitation, Shepard turned toward Jenkins. "Jenkins, you're with me. We're going to head to Chora's Den and try to find Harkin."

Jenkins nodded. "Right behind you, Commander."

"Stay in radio contact," Shepard said, turning her attention back toward Alenko and Williams for a second. "If you find anything out, let me know. I'll do the same."

Alenko and Williams both nodded.

"Okay then, let's move out."

* * *

><p>Shepard was acutely aware that Jenkins was doing his level best not to talk to her as they made their way towards Chora's Den. She didn't regret being harsh on him back on Eden Prime, considering the situation, but it was past time that she talked to him about it and she knew it.<p>

"Have you heard anything from your family?" Shepard asked, glancing back at him.

Jenkins startled, and it took him a second to reply. "What?" he asked, sounding confused. Then, as if he suddenly remembered who he was talking to, he flushed. "I mean, yes. Ma'am. Yes, ma'am. The captain gave me an update while you were in the med bay back on the _Normandy_, ma'am."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, but she didn't comment on the number of times he'd managed to fit "ma'am" into his reply. "And?" she prompted, trying to keep her voice gentle. Based on his tone, she didn't think it had been bad news that he'd received, but she didn't want to risk it.

If anything, Jenkins's face grew even redder. "They're fine, ma'am. Their farm is pretty far out. The geth didn't make it out there."

"That's good to hear," Shepard said, smiling.

"Yes, ma'am," Jenkins agreed. "Thank you, ma'am."

Shepard felt her mouth twitch as she tried to hold back a smile. "Jenkins, at ease."

"Sorry, ma'am."

Her mouth twitched again, and she had to struggle not to let her amusement show. She shook her head instead. "Jenkins, I promise that I don't bite." She shot him a look. "At least, not unless you deserve it."

He flinched and looked away.

Shepard sighed. "Kid, I'm not angry." She paused. "Well, not anymore. Do you at least understand why I was so ticked with you back on Eden Prime?"

"Because I screwed up," he said quietly, not meeting her gaze.

"Well, yeah," she admitted with a half-shrug. "But so did I."

Jenkins finally glanced at her.

Shepard gave him what she hoped came across as a reassuring smile. "It was my responsibility to get you out of there in one piece," she said. "It was your first time on the ground with me. I should have been paying closer attention."

"You kept me alive, ma'am," he said with a puzzled front. "If you hadn't been paying attention, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here right now."

She just shook her head. "That's not how it works, Corporal."

For a second or two, it looked as if he was going to say something else. Then his eyes narrowed, and his hand went to his sidearm.

"Jenkins?" Shepard asked, her own hand instinctively going toward her weapon. She glanced around even as she spoke, trying to catch sight of whatever it was that had spooked the kid. They were getting close to Chora's Den, if her murky memories from the one and only time she'd visited there before were right.

He gestured with his head toward the doorway in front of them. "It opened a second or two ago, just for a moment," he said quietly. "I saw movement on the other side."

"An ambush?" she asked, her eyebrows raising. "On the Citadel? You sure, Jenkins?"

Jenkins nodded, his face serious. "They were in flanking positions."

Shepard frowned, considering her options for a second. Udina was going to be livid if she got into a firefight here on the Citadel, but if Jenkins was right and there was someone waiting for them then there really wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

"Gun out, but don't fire until my mark," she said finally. "I don't want to risk an incident if it turns out to be a bunch of drunk turians looking to start something with some upstart humans."

Jenkins nodded. "Yes, Commander."

She took in a breath, then gestured for him to follow her.

* * *

><p>"Harkin, let me put this another way," Shepard said, glaring at the man in front of her as she uncrossed her arms. "I'm in a bad mood. In the past three days, I've been shot at more times than I can count, the most recent being <em>ten minutes<em> ago. I don't like you, and I'd like nothing more than to punch you right in your face."

She leaned in, her eyes pointedly drifting downward for just a second.

"Or maybe somewhere a bit more sensitive," she added, baring her teeth. "If you get my drift."

Harkin shifted uncomfortably. "Fine," he spat out. "Garrus was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office."

"Dr. Michel?" Jenkins asked. He'd been quiet for the past few minutes, letting Shepard do the talking, but she could tell from the tension in his voice that he was as disgusted by Harkin as she was.

"Yeah," Harkin said. Even though he was answering Jenkins, he didn't take his gaze off Shepard. "She runs the med clinic on the other side of the wards."

"And that's where Garrus is?" Shepard asked sharply.

Harkin gave her a nonchalant shrug. "No promises. What do I look like, his mother?"

Shepard glared at him.

Harkin glared back. "Last I heard, he was going back there." He rolled his eyes. "You're welcome to him. He's a damn hothead, always bucking heads with the executor. Still figures he can save the world." He reached out and grabbed his drink, taking a swig of it. "Fucking idiot. Just you wait and see, the executor will put him in his place soon enough. Just look at me."

"I'm trying not to," Shepard shot back, not even trying to hide her sarcasm. "If we don't find Garrus, we'll be back."

Harkin waved a hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me drink in peace."

Not even bothering to reply, Shepard turned around and started walking. A second or two later, Jenkins caught up, almost jogging to keep up with her pace. She hadn't realized just how quickly she was moving, and she forced herself to slow down a little.

"Do you trust him?" Jenkins asked quietly.

Shepard snorted. "About as far as I can throw him _without_ using biotics," she replied. Then she shrugged. "No idea if his intel on Garrus is good or not. There's only one way to find out."

Jenkins nodded. "Yes, ma'a—"

He cut off abruptly as a krogan pushed past him. Shepard caught him as he went tumbling into her, knocked off balance by the unexpected shove.

"Out of my way humans, I have no quarrel with you," the krogan grumbled. Then, raising his voice, he called back to another krogan standing nearby, one that was obviously a bouncer at the bar. "Next time, Fist dies. You tell him that."

"We'll see about that, Wrex," the bouncer said, glaring. "Get the hell out of here."

The first krogan, Wrex, made a disgruntled noise and stomped toward the door.

Shepard and Jenkins both stood there staring for a second or two.

"What just happened?" Jenkins asked slowly.

Shepard kept her gaze on Wrex as he stormed out of the bar, not looking away until the door shut behind him. Then she turned toward Jenkins. "I have no idea," she said slowly. Reluctantly, she shook her head. "It doesn't have anything with us. Put it on the back burner for now."

"Aye, ma'am," Jenkins said instantly.

"Come on, Jenkins," Shepard said. "Let's go try to find Officer Vakarian."

* * *

><p>"This is starting to get fucking ridiculous," Shepard grumbled as the last of the thugs hit the ground. She kept her gun out for a second, looking around warily. The way the last few days had been going, she didn't quite trust that people were done shooting at her.<p>

Beside her, Jenkins put his weapon away. "Commander?" he asked curiously.

Shepard shook her head, slowly putting her own gun down. "Don't get me wrong, kid, I've been shot at a lot of times," she said, "but I think this week might be going for some kind of record."

Jenkins's mouth twitched, as if he was hiding a smile.

Shaking her head, Shepard turned her attention back toward Vakarian. The doctor had flung herself behind a nearby desk during the fight, and he was helping her up.

When he saw Shepard heading his way, Vakarian straightened a bit. "Perfect timing, Shepard," he said, baring his teeth slightly in what she thought might be the equivalent of a grin. "You gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

Shepard was torn. One of the first things that had been burned into her all the way back in basic had been not to take a shot that would put a hostage at risk. Then again, Vakarian's shot had been clean. And trusting your abilities, knowing when a shot was safe to take and when it wasn't, had been another part of her training.

"That was a good shot," she said with a careful nod. "Clean."

"Sometimes you get lucky," Vakarian said, not even trying to hide the pride in his tone. As if the thought of not hitting exactly who and what he'd been aiming at hadn't even crossed his mind.

At that, Shepard frowned. "Yeah," she agreed, letting a bit of displeasure into her voice. "Lucky you didn't hit the hostage."

Shepard was expecting the turian to protest. To argue that he knew what he was doing, that there wasn't any chance of his shot missing. To tell her that she didn't know him or what he could do.

Instead, he surprised her.

Vakarian's eyes widened a bit, as if the thought of hitting the hostage hadn't even crossed his mind. "I just reacted. I didn't meant to—" He trailed off, almost like he realized how bad that sounded, and instead turned his attention toward the doctor. "Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

Michel shook her head. "No, I'm okay. Thanks to you." She looked away from Vakarian, turning her attention toward Jenkins and Shepard. "All of you."

"Happy to help," Jenkins said immediately. His gaze was focused entirely on the doctor.

Shepard glanced at him, trying to hide his amusement. He really was young, and she had to admit that the good doctor was more than a little easy on the eyes.

"Why were they threatening you?" Shepard asked, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand. She glanced down at one of the thugs that was lying on the ground nearby. "Who do they work for?"

Michel let out a shaky breath. "They work for Fist."

"Fist?" Shepard asked.

"He owns Chora's Den," Vakarian said, his eyes flashing. "He's scum, and the only reason he's not in jail is because he bribes the right people. But why would he send his goons after you, Dr. Michel?"

She looked down at her hands, and Shepard followed her gaze. The doctor was flexing them nervously. "They wanted to keep me from telling you about the quarian, Garrus."

"What quarian?" Shepard prompted gently.

Michel bit her lip. "A few days ago, a quarian came by my office," she explained. "She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it."

Garrus cut in. "Why didn't you—"

"Notify C-Sec?" Michel asked, cutting him off. "What do _you_ think would have happened to the poor girl if I had? They probably would have accused her of shooting herself and then found a way to arrest her for it."

Shepard narrowed her eyes when Garrus looked away, not protesting against the accusation. As much as she wanted to press, though, that wasn't the topic at hand.

"There had to be more to it than that, if this Fist character is sending thugs after you," Shepard prompted.

Michel nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker."

Shepard glanced over at Jenkins, who was frowning. Alenko's and Williams's talk with Barla Von was looking like it might be more important than she'd realized. Once they were done here, she needed to get them on the comms and find out what information he'd given them. If he'd given them any, at least.

"She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide," Michel continued, apparently not noticing the looks Shepard and Jenkins were exchanging. Judging by the way Vakarian's eyes were narrowed in their direction, it looked like he might have picked up on it. It looked like he might actually be a decent cop, at least.

"Then what?" Shepard asked, when Michel paused.

Michel gave her a weak shrug. "I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

Beside her, Vakarian shook his head. "That's not what my contacts tell me. He cut ties with the Broker. Now he works for Saren."

Michel's eyes widened. "What?"

"Wait a second," Shepard said, holding up a hand. "Don't get me wrong, I'm far from being an expert on the matter, but from what I've heard betraying the Shadow Broker isn't exactly the smartest or safest thing for someone to do."

"It's stupid, even for Fist," Michel agreed immediately. "This Saren must have made him quite the offer."

Vakarian's hands clenched at his side. "That quarian must have something Saren wants," he said. "Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."

"Do you have any idea what kind of information the quarian wanted to trade?" Jenkins asked.

Shepard glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. He flushed a little but didn't look away.

"Good question," Shepard acknowledged. If anything, his face grew even redder as she turned away from him and back toward Michel. "Doctor?"

Michel stood there for a moment, obviously parsing through her memories. Then she snapped her fingers. "Geth! Her information had something to do with the geth."

"She must be able to link Saren to the geth," Vakarian said. He didn't even try to hide the note of cheer in his voice. "There's no way the Council could ignore it if we had that information."

"I think it's time we paid Fist a visit," Shepard agreed. "Thank you for the help, Dr. Michel."

Michel gave her a weak smile. "No, thank you."

Shepard started to turn away, already gesturing for Jenkins to follow her.

"Shepard?"

She stopped, turning her head back in Vakarian's direction. "This is your show, Shepard," he said frankly. "But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."

Part of her wanted to tell him that this was Alliance business, but then her brain chimed in with a reminder that, technically, it actually wasn't. Chora's Den was on the Citadel, and if she was honest with herself it would probably be helpful to have someone from C-Sec with her. But she knew almost nothing about Vakarian, only what other people had told her.

"You're a turian," Shepard said carefully. "Why do you want to bring him down?"

"I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation, but I knew what was really going on," Vakarian replied, his voice rising in volume. "Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people!"

The last few words were almost shouted. Shepard couldn't help but be a bit impressed. Unless he was lot better actor than she was giving him credit for, he really did seem to want to help.

And they could use all the help they could get.

"Welcome aboard, Vakarian," Shepard said, holding out her hand.

Vakarian stared blankly at it for a moment, and Shepard grimaced. Human custom, right. She started to pull it back, but then he surprised her for the second time in the last few minutes by reaching out and taking it. His grip was careful but firm as he shook her hand.

"You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist," Vakarian said thoughtfully as he let go of her hand a moment later.

"Oh?" Shepard asked.

Vakarian nodded. "The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."

Shepard stared at him for a minute. Then she snorted.

"It doesn't have anything to do with us, huh?" Jenkins muttered not-so-quietly.

"Shut up, Jenkins," Shepard said, careful to keep her tone light.

"Yes, ma'am."

Both Vakarian and Michel were staring at them as if they'd lost their minds.

"We ran into Wrex earlier," Shepard explained. "Long story. But a krogan might come in handy. Any idea where we can find him?"

Vakarian nodded. "He's, uh, paying a visit to C-Sec. Fist accused him of making threats."

This time, it was Jenkins who snorted. "That's an understatement."

Shepard just shook her head. "Come on, you two. Let's go find us a krogan."


End file.
